L.A. School District Cancels iPad Pearson Curriculum, Asks Apple for Refund
Following the end of the $1.3 billion education initiative that would have seen all students in the Los Angeles school district outfitted with an iPad, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has notified Apple that it will no longer be using or paying for the Pearson Education curriculum that was meant to accompany the iPads.
In a letter sent to Apple and shared in part by the Los Angeles Times, the LAUSD asked for a refund and said it has no plans to "accept or compensate Apple for new deliveries of [Pearson Education] curriculum."
When the school district entered into a contract with Apple, it paid approximately $768 per iPad, which included approximately $200 towards a three-year license for math and English curriculum from Pearson that was meant to replace many textbooks and other learning tools. The materials went largely unused by the district due to technical problems and the quality of the software.
"As you are aware, LAUSD is extremely dissatisfied with the work of Pearson," according to an April 13 letter signed by general counsel David Holmquist. "While Apple and Pearson promised a state-of-the-art technological solution ... they have yet to deliver it."
Despite demands to fix the problem, the letter said that "the vast majority of our students are still unable to access the Pearson curriculum on iPads."
The letter asks for a meeting with Apple to discuss the dissolution of the district's deal with Pearson and a refund for the licenses that it was not able to use, letting it recoup some of the cost that it paid for the failed iPad initiative.
Apple and the Los Angeles Unified School District first entered into a $30 million agreement in 2013, which saw 35,000 iPads being distributed to 47 schools as part of a pilot program. The deal was meant to expand to a $1.3 billion initiative to provide all 640,000 students in the district with iPads, but it began falling apart soon after iPads were distributed to students.
Apple's contract with the LAUSD has since been under scrutiny from the FBI, under accusations that former L.A. superintendent John Deasy may have modified the bidding process for the initiative to favor Apple and Pearson due to ties with executives at Pearson.
Popular Stories
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April.
iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer.
Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular.
Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models.
According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash.
The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today.
Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa.
Voice...
Apple is no longer allowing customers who purchase an iPhone, cellular iPad, or Apple Watch to activate a device with now-defunct mobile carrier Sprint. Apple has also removed remaining references to Sprint from its online store.
When checking out with a new purchase, Sprint is no longer an option for connectivity, a change that Apple appears to have implemented today. Prior to now, Sprint...
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968.
There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...
Top Rated Comments
In theory this program should have been a hit. Poor software and technical support are to blame. Apple need to focus more in this area if they want a program like this to succeed. Education has taken a back seat to gold watches and bling.
That's nothing, I have great great ancestors that carved into stone and they ended up just fine.